Fresh from a successful launch exhibition in Bloemfontein December 2017 the Art Bank of South Africa (artbankSA) will be exhibiting in Johannesburg in November 2018. ArtbankSA will be showcasing the best of South African contemporary art, primarily the work of emerging artists. This is a call to South African artists to submit artwork to be considered for the exhibition.

Background

The Art Bank of South Africa is a national programme of the Department of Arts and Culture as part of the Mzansi Golden Economy (MGE) strategy implementation.  ArtbankSA is hosted by the National Museum Bloemfontein, an agency of the Department of Arts and Culture. The vision of the artbankSA is to promote, foster and stimulate a vibrant market for the collection of South African contemporary visual art.

ArtbankSA will achieve this vision by;

• Curating a definitive collection of contemporary South African visual art.

• Promoting financial sustainability for the artists and Art Bank of South Africa through the leasing of art.

• Nurturing emerging South African artists by expanding the market for their work and providing skills development opportunities.

• Fostering an appreciation for contemporary art by making art accessible to the broader public in their workplaces and shared spaces.

Invitation to apply for artwork to be considered for the exhibition and/or acquisition by the Art Bank of South Africa

South African artists are invited to apply for their contemporary artwork to be showcased at the Johannesburg launch exhibition.  Artists who are selected to participate in the exhibition will be profiled and showcased. In addition, their art will be made available for sale during the Launch Exhibition. The artbankSA annually considers acquiring special pieces of art for its own growing permanent collection. The acquisition will be made from the artworks that will be selected for exhibition.

Criteria for submissions

All submissions are to be made electronically. Artists are required to meet the following criteria:

• A detailed submission form is required with each submission. Submission forms can be found on the National Museum Bloemfontein website www.nasmus.co.za
• Artists may submit a maximum of five original artworks for consideration.

• Artwork can be submitted in any medium.

• Artwork must have been created by the artist in the last 24 months.

• Artwork must be of a superior quality and representative of South African contemporary art. The decision of the Acquisition Committee will be final and no further correspondence will be entered into concerning any submissions.

• Three dimension submissions must be accompanied by images which are sufficient to portray the image in all its dimensions.

• Indicate the sale price of the artwork including VAT (where applicable) and any other costs.

Non adherence to the above criteria will result in the application becoming disqualified. Only original, ready for purchase, artwork will be considered.

The artbankSA Acquisition Committee

The acquisitions committee will oversee the selection process; approve and make recommendations of artworks for to be exhibited and/or purchased.

Closing Date

The deadline for submissions is 12pm on Friday, 12 October 2018. All completed submissions must be emailed to artbank2@nasmus.co.za. Queries must be submitted in writing to the same address. Only successful applicants will be contacted about collection and couriering of artwork to the exhibition venue within 14 days after the closing date.